Colo. clinic suspect declared unfit for trial

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Robert Dear Jr., the self-described "warrior for the babies" who defiantly admitted to carrying out a shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood center here last November, was declared on Wednesday unfit to stand trial by the judge overseeing the case.

The ruling by state District Judge Gilbert A. Martinez found Dear to be mentally incompetent, and said Dear experienced wide-ranging delusions that the federal government had been following and spying on him for years. The judge's ruling largely relied on the reports of two state psychologists who examined Dear this winter and said they believed he was not competent.

"That's called prejudiced! Prejudiced!" Dear shouted at the judge as he was led out of the courtroom here on Wednesday. "Filthy animal!"

The ruling brought the criminal case against Dear to what the district attorney called "a standstill." Dear will be sent to a state-run mental hospital for treatment aimed at restoring him to competency, a legal standard that requires him to understand the court proceedings and help in his own defense.

Questions about whether a defendant is mentally fit to stand trial have emerged in several high-profile criminal cases, including the federal prosecution of Jared Loughner, who opened fire at an event for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona in January 2011. He was later found competent and pleaded guilty.

Though it is rare, some defendants may never be found competent and can be held indefinitely at a psychiatric center, legal experts said. Dear's case will next be reviewed on Aug. 11, the judge said.